Chapter 670: The New Emperor’s Accession?
Chapter 670: The New Emperor’s Accession?
Long Yue came to Daliang without a maid or guard, it was just her and You’er. One could say that after they were escorted to the Liangzhou Border, they went into the forest on their own.
On this journey, there was danger, confusion, and even fear, but they managed to overcome it all.
They followed the sun’s direction during the day and watched the movement of stars at night, stopping and starting, without knowing when they would reach the Capital City of Daliang?
In this state of anxious uncertainty, they kept moving forward.
Fortune favors the determined, and they finally reached the vicinity of Liangjing City.
Once close to here, the remaining journey was much smoother.
However, Long Yue wouldn’t enter the city immediately. Before doing so, she had to prepare well to avoid accidentally stepping on a landmine and getting blown to pieces.
A woman noticed Long Yue deep in thought and asked curiously, "What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?"
"Ah? I’m thinking about how my brother and I have come all the way to the Capital City, and I don’t know if the relatives here will recognize us. Alas!" Long Yue sighed heavily, her face filled with difficulty, "To tell you the truth, my brother and I came here to seek refuge with relatives, as life was unbearable in our hometown."
Escaping hardship, seeking refuge with relatives, these two things don’t conflict, and the woman believed her.
Just seeking refuge with relatives?
She shook her head bitterly. In this world, even one’s own father might not love you, so what are relatives worth?
But she said nothing more, because she didn’t want to discourage Long Yue.
"I’ll make some tea."
Tea leaves are generally unaffordable for ordinary families, but the woman lived in the woods here, where she found some tea trees and made her own tea to drink, quite comfortably.
Long Yue wanted to say it was unnecessary, but eventually didn’t refuse.
Only eating chicken soup seemed oily, so some tea was fine.
Tea was served, Long Yue sipped lightly and asked curiously, "Do you live here alone?"
The woman nodded, "Yes, originally my mother lived here too, but she passed away a few years ago."
"Sorry for bringing up your sad memories."
"It’s fine, I usually live here alone, it’s boring. You can talk with me; it’s nice to have company."
Like this?
Long Yue’s big eyes rolled around, and she then smiled, "Since you’re alone and it’s dull, could my brother and I stay here temporarily? We could chat and relieve boredom, as well as work together to earn a living. By the way, I have some money left, we can go to town later and buy some food supplies."
Long Yue took out a purse, pouring out a heap of broken silver.
These pieces of silver were really fragmented, ranging from one mace to half a tael to one tael, just looking at them was dizzying.
The woman was quite surprised, these specks of silver didn’t look like much, but upon calculation, there was more than ten taels.
"My family used to run a business, my parents opened a fabric store, and I know some embroidery. I used to make embroidered items to help with the family business, but...alas, had a bad year, the family workshop was forced to sell, and my parents caught an illness and passed away, leaving just me and You’er to depend on each other..."
Long Yue spoke about her plight, her eyes reddening, tears welling up at the corners, wiping them away with her hand.
This wasn’t an act, but genuine distress. Imagine a happy family, ultimately torn apart, and Rui’er is so young, yet must deal with things alone. Li Qingmu’s situation at the Liang Imperial Palace is unknown, and here she is, facing an uncertain future.
So her emotions truly showed through.
The woman could see Long Yue was in genuine distress, feeling sympathetic and helpless for her, she sighed, "You’re just like me, a poor soul. Alright, you can stay with me for now, but I can’t take this silver."
"How can that be? I’m using your things, eating your food, I wouldn’t feel at ease. I must use some silver to buy supplies to feel settled. By the way, how do we get to town from here? How long does it take?"
Since this place was in the countryside, there must be some distance to the town, and Long Yue needed to go to a populous place to find information.
"It’s a bit far, you have a cart, you can go. If you head north, by cart it’s about half an hour to town."
"Alright then, let’s go, You’er, let’s buy some food in town! It’s time to improve our meals."
"Ah, ah, ah!"
You’er, upon hearing they would eat delicious food, was delighted, cheering and dancing with excitement.
Long Yue smiled, climbed into the cart with You’er, and before leaving, she left her bundle of clothes with her, reassuring the woman.
"Sister, we’ll be back soon!"
"Alright, be careful on the road."
Long Yue and You’er set off in the cart per her direction, and sure enough, half an hour later, they saw a small town.
The town had many things, plenty of chicken, duck, fish, meat, and various vegetables and fruits. Despite Long Yue’s silver looking sparse, it was more than enough to buy these things. She and You’er bought quite a bit and then went to an inn to eat.
It wasn’t that they were particularly hungry, but inns were busy places, and people often revealed quite a bit of information when chatting.
Long Yue ordered some steamed dumplings for herself, a bowl of noodles for You’er, along with some small dishes, eating simply.
All sorts of people passed by, Long Yue glanced around casually.
She couldn’t look around too obviously, or she might attract unwelcome attention.
"Waiter, bring wine, hurry up, the best wine, damnit, where is everyone? Hurry and serve the wine!"
"Boom!"
A drunk shouted loudly, smashing an empty jar of wine on the ground, instantly drawing the attention of those around.
Long Yue also glanced over at him deliberately.
He was just a drunken man, with a bushy beard, seeming irresponsible, Long Yue turned away in disdain, but then saw an elderly woman rush in, grab the drunk, and scold:
"You vile creature, heartless brat, all you do is drink and gamble, your brother went in, do you want to go in too? How is this old lady supposed to live, huh? I can’t go on like this!"
The old woman started scolding the man, but soon her tears flowed, sitting down to cry loudly.
She was truly heartbroken, with only two sons, but both were a disappointment; the elder went off committing crimes, the younger just drank and gambled, neither married, leaving her how to cope?
"Hey, ma’am, don’t cry, don’t be upset, your elder son should be released soon."
The old woman hesitated and then retorted angrily, "You dare trick me? My son was sentenced to ten years, with five remaining, how could he be released?"
The old woman shook in anger, thinking he was deceiving her.
The man said, "The new Emperor is about to ascend the throne, surely there will be a general amnesty. Though your son’s crime is significant, he’s been imprisoned for five years, surely he’ll be released."
"Really?" The old woman paused, seeking confirmation from others, and all responses were affirmative, she was overjoyed, even kneeling, bowing in thanks.
"Plop!"
Long Yue dropped the steamed bun she had held to her mouth.
She was momentarily stunned.
New Emperor ascending?
Which new Emperor?
Isn’t it a young teenage boy who ascended the throne before? Could it be that Little Emperor...
Somehow, an absurd thought arose in Long Yue’s mind.
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